refinement

Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

n. The act of refining.

n. The result of refining; an improvement or elaboration.

n. The state or quality of being refined; cultivation, as in manners or taste.

n. A keen or precise phrasing; a subtle distinction.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

n. The act, or the result of refining; the removal of impurities, or a purified material

n. High-class style; cultivation.

n. A fine or subtle distinction.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English

n. The act of refining, or the state of being refined

n. That which is refined, elaborated, or polished to excess; an affected subtilty.

from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

n. The act of refining or purifying; the act of separating from a substance all extraneous matter; purification: clarification: as, the refinement of metals or liquors.

n. The state of being pure or purified.

n. The state of being free from what is coarse, rude, inelegant, debasing, or the like; purity of taste, mind, etc.; elegance of manners or language; culture.

n. That which proceeds from refining or a desire to refine; a result of elaboration, polish, or nicety: often used to denote an over-nicety, or affected subtlety: as, the refinements of logic or philosophy; the refinements of cunning.

n. Excessive or extravagant compliment; a form of expression intended to impose on the hearer.

n. the process of removing impurities (as from oil or metals or sugar etc.)

n. a highly developed state of perfection; having a flawless or impeccable quality

n. the quality of excellence in thought and manners and taste

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Examples

He dwelt on the spirit of freedom existing in America, asserting that their extreme notions of liberty arose from the peculiar religious spirit which existed in the colonies, which he termed a refinement on the principles of resistance, and which was carried with them on their first emigration from England.

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"Perhaps Mme de Guermantes would smile next day when she referred to the headdress, a little too complicated, which the Princess had worn, but certainly she would declare that the latter had been none the less quite lovely and marvellously got up; and the Princess, whose own tastes found something a little cold, a little austere, a little "tailor-made" in her cousin's way of dressing, would discover in this strict sobriety an exquisite refinement."

--The Guermantes Way by Marcel Proust, translated by C.K. Scott Moncrieff and Terence Kilmartin, Revised by D.J. Enright, p 63 of the Modern Library paperback edition